Simon Lizotte
Simon Peter Lizotte (born November 17, 1992) is a German professional disc golfer now based in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, United States, with career earnings of $234,770.[1] In January 2023 he signed a ten-year sponsorship deal with MVP Discs,[2] reported to be worth more than $1M per year;[3] for the previous ten years he had been sponsored by Discmania Discs.[4] 2022 was his most successful season to date, with four Elite Series wins on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, as well as five other top ten finishes.[5] Lizotte has acquired a significant following for his disc golf-related videos on YouTube, with 170,000 subscribers in January 2023. [6][7] He is also noted for holding the disc golf distance world record on several occasions.[8]
| Simon Lizotte | |
|---|---|
| — Disc golfer — | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Bremen, Germany |
| Nationality |  Germany |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2008 |
| Current tour(s) | PDGA National Tour, Disc Golf World Tour, Disc Golf Pro Tour |
| Professional wins | 76 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PDGA National Tour | 1 |
| Disc Golf World Tour | 1 |
| Disc Golf Pro Tour | 5 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| PDGA World Championships | 3rd: 2017 |
| USDGC | 13th: 2014 |
| Aussie Open | 2nd: 2015 |
| European Masters | 17th: 2014 |
| European Open | 3rd: 2016, 2017 |
| Japan Open | 6th: 2014 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| European Player of the Year | 2014, 2015 |
| World Distance Record Holder | 2014-2015 |
Professional career
National Tour wins (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 23, 2015 | Ledgestone Insurance Open | 54-47-47-53-32=233 | −32 | 4 strokes |  Paul McBeth |
| 2 | May 20–22, 2022 | OTB Open | 62-58-58=178 | −20 | 2 strokes | Calvin Heimburg |
| 3 | June 2–5, 2022 | Portland Open | 55-58-58-59=230 | −34 | 1 stroke | Garrett Gurthie |
| 4 | August 19–21, 2022 | TruBank Des Moines Challenge | 54-57-54=165 | −27 | Playoff | Robert Burridge |
| 5 | September 22–25, 2022 | MVP Open at Maple Hill | 62-52-50=164 | −16 | 1 stroke | Corey Ellis |
| 6 | April 7–9, 2023 | Music City Open | 59-59-54=172 | −23 | 1 stroke | Anthony Barela |
A-Tier wins (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 18, 2012 | European Championships | 54-58-58-61=231 | −33 | 3 strokes |  Karl Nybo |
| 2 | May 14, 2014 | Dynamic Discs Glass Blown Open | 50-49-52=151 | −36 | 5 strokes | Paul McBeth, Jeremy Koling |
| 3 | April 24, 2016 | Nick Hyde Memorial | 51-54-54=159 | −30 | Playoff | Paul McBeth, Nate Sexton |
| 4 | May 7, 2016 | Konopiste Open | 55-57-57=169 | Playoff | Paul McBeth, Karl Nybo | |
| 5 | March 26, 2017 | The Open at Temple | 55-57-52=164 | −25 | 5 strokes | Nikko Locastro, James Conrad |
| 6 | March 3, 2018 | Memorial Championship | 47-49-42-51=189 | −43 | 3 strokes | Eagle McMahon |
| 7 | June 3, 2018 | Battle of Seattle 5 | 52-46-58-28=184 | 2 strokes | Kevin Jones | |
| 8 | August 19, 2018 | European Disc Golf Championships | 53-50-51-54=208 | −32 | 5 strokes |  Seppo Paju |
World distance records
Lizotte set the world record for longest throw of a disc golf disc on October 27, 2014 at 863.5 ft (263.2 m).[9] This beat David Wiggins Jr.'s previous record of 836 ft set in 2012. Lizotte broke his own record on March 27, 2016 with a throw of 903.9 ft (275.5 m), a record that stood for two days until Wiggins Jr. threw for 1,108.9 ft (338 m). Lizotte then set a personal record of 1030 ft.[10]
Wind has played a significant role in world distance records. Wiggins' 2012 record was set with a 14.5 mph tailwind,[11] while Lizotte's 2014 record was aided by an 18 mph tailwind. His 903.9 ft throw took place in a 30 mph wind, and the two players' throws over 1,000 ft were in a 38-42 mph wind. Both Lizotte and Wiggins have stated that new distance records must be established with wind limits.[12]
Summary
| Competition Tier | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-25 | Events* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Other Majors | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 17 |
| National Tour | 4 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 21 |
*Through September 2022
Career summary
| Season | Starts | Wins | Top-10 | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1,285 |
| 2009 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 2,216 |
| 2010 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 4,428 |
| 2011 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 1,912 |
| 2012 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 1,777 |
| 2013 | 25 | 17 | 22 | 7,021 |
| 2014 | 21 | 4 | 18 | 17,759 |
| 2015 | 26 | 8 | 20 | 24,090 |
| 2016 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 12,029 |
| 2017 | 22 | 3 | 19 | 28,762 |
| 2018 | 20 | 3 | 14 | 22,340 |
| 2019 | 26 | 1 | 21 | 26,132 |
| 2020 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 12,146 |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 8,586 |
| 2022 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 64,467 |
| Career* | 243 | 69 | 191 | 234,770 |
*As of 1/8/2023[13]
Equipment
Announced January 2023, Lizotte signed a 10 year deal with MVP Disc Sports. Lizotte is also sponsored by Grip Equipment and has a signature bag with them. When he was sponsored by Discmania Discs he had a number of signature discs (marked with *), and carried a combination of the following discs:[14]
Distance Drivers
- PD2 (C-Line)
- PD2 (Luster C-Line)
- DD3 (S-Line)
- DD3 (Special Blend S-Line, Cloudbreaker 3)
Fairway Drivers
- PD (C-line)
- FD (C-line)
- FD (S-Line)
- FD3 (Swirly S-Line (Doom Bird II*))
- Tilt* (Hard Exo Vapor, Meta, Lux Vapor, Full Tilt)
- Genius (Active Base)
- Splice (Neo)
Midranges
- MD1 (C-line)
- MD1 (Metal Flake C-Line, *Mind Bender)
- MD3 (Color Glow C-line)
- Origin (Meta, Midnight Prowl)
- Mutant (Neo)
Putters
- P2 (D-Line)
- P1x (D-Line)
- P2 (C-Line, *Sky God 4)
Bags
GRIPeq Ax5 (Gorilla Bag)
Signature Discs
Discmania:
Sky God 1, C-Line P2
Sky God 2, Swirly S-Line P2
Sky God 3, Color Glow C-Line P2
Sky God 4, C-Line P2
Doombird 1, Swirly S-Line FD3
Doombird 2, Swirly S-Line FD3
Doombird 3, Swirly S-Line FD3
Doombird 4, Horizon FD3
Crescent Falcon 1, Glow C-Line MD4
Crescent Falcon 2, Glow C-Line MD4
Sky Rider, Swirly S-Line PD2
Mind Bender, Metal Flake C-Line MD1
Shadow Titan, Forge Method
Creator Series:
Tilt, Hard Exo Vapor
Tilt, Meta
Full Tilt, Lux Vapor
MVP:
Official Team Series Leapin Lizottl, Eclipse Hex
References
- "Simon Lizotte #8332".
- Eisenhood, Charlie (2023-01-12). "Simon Lizotte Signs 10-Year Contract with MVP". Ultiworld Disc Golf. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
- https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2023/01/12/inside-the-simon-lizotte-mvp-deal-the-contract-how-it-came-together-and-whats-next/
- "Thank you Simon for this Journey of a Lifetime". Discmania. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
- "Simon Lizotte #8332".
- "Faces of the Game: Influencers Grow the Sport by Grabbing Eyeballs". 4 February 2021.
- "Simon Lizotte - YouTube". YouTube.
- "Simon Lizotte sets two disc golf distance world records; Allthingsdiscgolf". allthingsdiscgolf.com. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- "Distance World Record Shattered! 863 Feet!". 27 October 2014.
- "David Wiggins Jr. blows away distance world record, throws over 1,100 feet". 28 March 2016.
- "David Wiggins Jr. Sets New Distance Record with Blizzard Champion Boss". 16 April 2012.
- "David Wiggins & Simon Lizotte Talking About Wind and World Records". YouTube.
- "Simon Lizotte #8332".
- "Simon Lizotte In The Bag 2021 - Discmania". YouTube.